RANCHO CUCAMONGA - The therapist for a former Westminster police detective testified for the defense Monday at a trial that stems from the alleged kidnapping and rape of a local waitress in 2010.

On the 17th day of trial proceedings in West Valley Superior Court, defense lawyer James Blatt called marriage and family therapist Brian Whitley to testify about the defendant, Anthony Orban.

Orban, 32, is accused of kidnapping the woman at gunpoint on April 3, 2010 from the parking lot of Ontario Mills mall and making her drive to a Fontana shopping center, where prosecutors say he beat and raped her for an hour.

Whitley and Orban first met on June 24, 2009, according to testimony.

Orban told the therapist he was in a "nose dive" and barely in control enough to pull up.

Also during that first meeting, Orban reported that he was having difficulty sleeping and was "suffering from anger, hopelessness and loss of appetite," Whitley testified.

In September 2009, Whitley referred Orban to a doctor because he thought his client could benefit from medications.

The next month, Orban reported having an appointment with the doctor and by November, the defendant was taking prescription medications, Whitley testified.

By February 2010, Whitley described Orban as having "an improved mood and a more functioning relationship with his wife."

"I'm not able to give a specific thing as to what caused the improvement," Whitley said in response to Blatt's questioning.

It could have been therapy, medication, Orban's own personal changes or a combination of the three, the therapist added.

Orban, a former Marine, was using the anti-depressant Zoloft and an anti-seizure medication called Neurontin. The defense has said that Orban's behavior in the April 2010 attack was the result of a "psychotic break from reality" brought on by prescription drugs.

Also on the witness stand Monday was Orban's former girlfriend, Kristen Stiefel.

The defendant and Stiefel worked together at the Westminster Police Department and had an affair from March to November 2009, she testified.

They eventually ended their relationship, she said, but remained friends.

On the day of the attack, Orban called and texted Stiefel asking her to come out to Ontario - for sex, she presumed.

Stiefel testified that she could tell Orban had been drinking.

"He didn't totally sound sober," she said. "His words were slower."

It would later be revealed that Orban had three margaritas and split two pitchers of beer that day with co-defendant Jeff Jelinek.

Throughout the investigation, and during the trial, Stiefel was asked in detail about the sexual practices between her and the defendant.

Orban was never violent with her and treated her with respect, Stiefel said.

"He was not that way with me, therefore I couldn't see him doing that with anyone else," Stiefel said in regards to Orban's actions during the 2010 attack.